Obituary for Joan of Arc Dougherty (Gillen)
Joan d’Arc (née Gillen) Dougherty gained her seat in heaven on May 18, 2020. She is reunited with her most beloved husband of 58 years, Dominic Aloysius Dougherty Jr. Joan was preceded in death by her parents Patrick and Hannah, brothers Joseph, William, Patrick, Thomas and Bernard, and sister Mary Rose Gillen Gregory.
Born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on May 11, 1920, Joan celebrated one hundred years of life. Having lost her parents early in life, and as the youngest of seven children, Joan learned the foundation of her values: faith and family. From the age of 12, she was responsible for running a household. It was while attending a wedding that she met Dominic and found her partner in the Catholic faith. On October 25, 1941, they celebrated the Sacrament of Matrimony at Holy Infancy Church in Bethlehem. Dom and Joan set down their roots in Auburndale, Massachusetts in 1944, and raised a family of fifteen children.
Joan was honored as Mother of the Year by The March of Dimes in 1956, for nursing six of nine children through polio the prior year. Joan’s proudest achievement though was the family she and Dom established. They instilled the traits of observance of an unfailing Faith, devotion to family, commitment to education and confronting hard work, qualities which are now passed on to new generations. She taught by action, not by words. She wore out her knees while tending to the needs of her home and her children and wore out the treads of stairs as she knelt each night in prayer. Joan possessed a memory for details that astonished anyone who had a second conversation with her while sitting around the kitchen table.
Joan had a dedication to the born and the unborn, identifying each as a child of God. She was an avid consumer of information but focused only on matters that would improve the lives of her children. She cherished the fact that her children all graduated from college, with a majority obtaining advanced degrees.
A loving daughter, sister, aunt, wife, mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, and great grandmother Joan opened her heart to all in need. She gave an immeasurable amount of love to all whom she encountered. Though she is now happily dancing with Dom, she is and will be deeply missed.
All Because Two People Fell In Love, Joan d’Arc’s legacy is her fifteen children, sixty-five grandchildren and ninety-two great grandchildren, and those on their way: Joan of Arc (MA); Dominic III (MA); Patrick and Irene (DE) and their children: Christopher (Julie) (children Kaitlin and Patrick), Carolyn (Mike) Smith (children Rachael, Matthew, Sarah, Andrew, Thomas, Anna, Christopher, Mary and John), Elizabeth (children Alycia, Mallory and Declan), Meghan Dougherty (Corey Pettingill) (child Caleb), and Becky Gaunt (children Dominic, Alaina, Xavier, Jonas, Elise, and Delia); Eileen and Charles Doell (AZ) and their children: Erin Doell (Mark Brzezinski) (child Thomas), Emily (children Joshua, Noah and Lily), Keri (Mark) Keller, Andrew (children Sophie and Audrey), Alicia (Dustin) Fitzpatrick (children Theo and Eloise), Rebecca (Jim) Salvator, and Brian (Lindsay) (children James and Molly); Timothy and Diane (NJ) and their children: Marie (Phil) Anderson (children Penny and Rowan), Theresa, and Charlie; Dennis and Jill (VA) and their children: Abbi, Patrick (Dusica) (children Oliver and Ana), Kathleen (Chris) Wood (child Eve), Matthew (Laura Collier), and Carol (Jonathan) Marksteiner; Mary and Frederick Aufiero (MA) and their children: Jude (Heather) (children Isabella and Keira), Gabriel (Reyna) (children Emma and Adrian), Mary Joan (children Connor and Emma), Veronica and fiancé Alex Wheeler, Luke (Heidi) (children Abigail and James), Dolores, Joan Marie (children Erin and Shane), Ruth, Matt (Ashleigh) (children Prestin, Vincent and Rosalie), Damian (Katelyn) (children Henry and Teddy), and Robert; Joseph and Mary Catherine (VA) and their children: Kelly (Jason) Burke (children Joey, Brigid, Matthew, Tommy and Molly), Kristine Schweiss (children Dominic, John, Mary Monica, and Anne), Michael (Elizabeth) (children Maddie, Henry, Peter, Frank and Ada), and Mary (Andrew) Schreiner (children Kathleen, Claire, Mary Maureen and Grace); Michael and Elizabeth (MN) and their children: Tim (Kate) (children Dominic V, Benedict and Elizabeth), Kate (Brian) Estrada (children Mary Rose, Eleanor, Caroline and Joseph), and Michelle; Kathleen and Keith Molacek (MN) and their children Jerome and Andrew; Kristine (MA); Terence and Rosemary (MA) and their children: Maggie (Sean) McKenna (children Elizabeth and Jack), Patricia, and Kathleen; John and Maribeth (IL) and their children: John, Bridget, Molly, Patrick (Gabi), and Hannah; Richard and Julie (TX) and their children: Mary (Brandon) Misko (children Marianne, Pip, Fiona and Margaret), Annie (Eric) Palmer (children Cora and Helen), Dominic IV (Laura), Joe, Joan of Arc (John Paul) Jones (child Joan of Arc), Rose, James, John and Michael; Anne and Daniel Diaz (CA) and their children: Sue (Wes) Fox (children Evelyn, Kathryn and Joan), Johanna (Derek) Halbasch (children Abby, Oliver, Sam, Penny and Charlotte), Dan, Sarah (children CeCe and Millie), Simon (Sara), Libby, Mary and Katie.
A Roman Catholic funeral Mass was held privately at Mary Immaculate of Lourdes Church located at 270 Elliot Street, Newton Upper Falls, MA. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Mary Immaculate of Lourdes Church or to New Hope, Inc., Pregnancy Resource Center, 149 3 rd Avenue, Westwood, NJ 07675.
Born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on May 11, 1920, Joan celebrated one hundred years of life. Having lost her parents early in life, and as the youngest of seven children, Joan learned the foundation of her values: faith and family. From the age of 12, she was responsible for running a household. It was while attending a wedding that she met Dominic and found her partner in the Catholic faith. On October 25, 1941, they celebrated the Sacrament of Matrimony at Holy Infancy Church in Bethlehem. Dom and Joan set down their roots in Auburndale, Massachusetts in 1944, and raised a family of fifteen children.
Joan was honored as Mother of the Year by The March of Dimes in 1956, for nursing six of nine children through polio the prior year. Joan’s proudest achievement though was the family she and Dom established. They instilled the traits of observance of an unfailing Faith, devotion to family, commitment to education and confronting hard work, qualities which are now passed on to new generations. She taught by action, not by words. She wore out her knees while tending to the needs of her home and her children and wore out the treads of stairs as she knelt each night in prayer. Joan possessed a memory for details that astonished anyone who had a second conversation with her while sitting around the kitchen table.
Joan had a dedication to the born and the unborn, identifying each as a child of God. She was an avid consumer of information but focused only on matters that would improve the lives of her children. She cherished the fact that her children all graduated from college, with a majority obtaining advanced degrees.
A loving daughter, sister, aunt, wife, mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, and great grandmother Joan opened her heart to all in need. She gave an immeasurable amount of love to all whom she encountered. Though she is now happily dancing with Dom, she is and will be deeply missed.
All Because Two People Fell In Love, Joan d’Arc’s legacy is her fifteen children, sixty-five grandchildren and ninety-two great grandchildren, and those on their way: Joan of Arc (MA); Dominic III (MA); Patrick and Irene (DE) and their children: Christopher (Julie) (children Kaitlin and Patrick), Carolyn (Mike) Smith (children Rachael, Matthew, Sarah, Andrew, Thomas, Anna, Christopher, Mary and John), Elizabeth (children Alycia, Mallory and Declan), Meghan Dougherty (Corey Pettingill) (child Caleb), and Becky Gaunt (children Dominic, Alaina, Xavier, Jonas, Elise, and Delia); Eileen and Charles Doell (AZ) and their children: Erin Doell (Mark Brzezinski) (child Thomas), Emily (children Joshua, Noah and Lily), Keri (Mark) Keller, Andrew (children Sophie and Audrey), Alicia (Dustin) Fitzpatrick (children Theo and Eloise), Rebecca (Jim) Salvator, and Brian (Lindsay) (children James and Molly); Timothy and Diane (NJ) and their children: Marie (Phil) Anderson (children Penny and Rowan), Theresa, and Charlie; Dennis and Jill (VA) and their children: Abbi, Patrick (Dusica) (children Oliver and Ana), Kathleen (Chris) Wood (child Eve), Matthew (Laura Collier), and Carol (Jonathan) Marksteiner; Mary and Frederick Aufiero (MA) and their children: Jude (Heather) (children Isabella and Keira), Gabriel (Reyna) (children Emma and Adrian), Mary Joan (children Connor and Emma), Veronica and fiancé Alex Wheeler, Luke (Heidi) (children Abigail and James), Dolores, Joan Marie (children Erin and Shane), Ruth, Matt (Ashleigh) (children Prestin, Vincent and Rosalie), Damian (Katelyn) (children Henry and Teddy), and Robert; Joseph and Mary Catherine (VA) and their children: Kelly (Jason) Burke (children Joey, Brigid, Matthew, Tommy and Molly), Kristine Schweiss (children Dominic, John, Mary Monica, and Anne), Michael (Elizabeth) (children Maddie, Henry, Peter, Frank and Ada), and Mary (Andrew) Schreiner (children Kathleen, Claire, Mary Maureen and Grace); Michael and Elizabeth (MN) and their children: Tim (Kate) (children Dominic V, Benedict and Elizabeth), Kate (Brian) Estrada (children Mary Rose, Eleanor, Caroline and Joseph), and Michelle; Kathleen and Keith Molacek (MN) and their children Jerome and Andrew; Kristine (MA); Terence and Rosemary (MA) and their children: Maggie (Sean) McKenna (children Elizabeth and Jack), Patricia, and Kathleen; John and Maribeth (IL) and their children: John, Bridget, Molly, Patrick (Gabi), and Hannah; Richard and Julie (TX) and their children: Mary (Brandon) Misko (children Marianne, Pip, Fiona and Margaret), Annie (Eric) Palmer (children Cora and Helen), Dominic IV (Laura), Joe, Joan of Arc (John Paul) Jones (child Joan of Arc), Rose, James, John and Michael; Anne and Daniel Diaz (CA) and their children: Sue (Wes) Fox (children Evelyn, Kathryn and Joan), Johanna (Derek) Halbasch (children Abby, Oliver, Sam, Penny and Charlotte), Dan, Sarah (children CeCe and Millie), Simon (Sara), Libby, Mary and Katie.
A Roman Catholic funeral Mass was held privately at Mary Immaculate of Lourdes Church located at 270 Elliot Street, Newton Upper Falls, MA. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Mary Immaculate of Lourdes Church or to New Hope, Inc., Pregnancy Resource Center, 149 3 rd Avenue, Westwood, NJ 07675.